Presently, in many business establishments, total sales may be limited by the number of transactions that can be processed in a limited period of time. This typically occurs in situations where the demand for a good or service during a time period exceeds the ability to process transactions to purchase the good or service within that time period. For example, a fast food restaurant may be extremely busy at certain times during the day, thereby compelling potential customers to forgo purchases if the line or wait is too long. As a result, sales may be increased if the demand can be immediately or more efficiently met. Thus, any means or process to reduce waiting time may be helpful to increase overall sales.
In one example, it is common practice for a customer to order the same menu item (e.g., a specific type of hamburger at a fast food restaurant) during each visit. Arguably, a certain amount of time may be wasted over an extended time period by repeatedly asking for a customer's order if it is always the same on each subsequent visit. Notably, the time required to determine the appropriate order may be significant when the number of recurrent customers that frequent a given place of business is considered. Consequently, wait times may be increased if usual orders are constantly being asked for, especially at peak processing times (e.g., lunch time).
Continuing with the fast food restaurant example, by improving the efficiency of the purchase transaction process, if the fast food restaurant can take orders more efficiently, the restaurant can devote more employee time to the preparation of food and beverage items which in turn decrease wait times. As stated above, a decrease in wait time can increase sales.
In an effort to improve the efficiency of the transaction process, some business establishments also receive orders over the telephone and/or via the Internet. Although ordering via telephone or via the Internet eliminates the requirement of physically standing in line, processing delays caused by the failure to recognize recurrent orders can still occur. Furthermore, there may be certain goods and services where ordering (e.g., via on-line or by telephone) from home or some other location that is not proximate to the store is not ideal due to the amount of time that transpires between the customer's placement of the order and the time the good is delivered or picked up (or the service is rendered). For example, on-line ordering is unsuitable for some goods that must be enjoyed or consumed immediately, such as hot or freshly prepared items.
Thus, a more efficient order processing method is desirable. More specifically, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer program products for storing usual order preference data for recurrent orders.